Manufacturing Engineer – PCB Assembly

About the Role

As a Manufacturing Engineer at Rocket EMS, you will lead the engineering activities that ensure printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) can be manufactured reliably, efficiently, and at the required production volume. Your focus will include design for manufacturability (DFM), design for assembly (DFA), new product introduction (NPI), manufacturing planning, and product lifecycle support.

This role evaluates the complete manufacturing approach—from customer design data and assembly requirements through production routing, tooling, inspection, test integration, and final assembly. You will identify manufacturing risks early, coordinate solutions with customers and internal teams, and lead improvements that affect multiple production areas.

You’ll work closely with Process Engineering, Quality, Test Engineering, Supply Chain, Production, and Program Management to translate product requirements into a complete, controlled manufacturing plan and resolve broader technical issues throughout production.

Responsibilities

Lead DFM and DFA reviews for new and revised products, identifying design features that affect assembly quality, repeatability, cost, and production capability.

Evaluate component spacing and orientation, land patterns, thermal characteristics, panelization, tooling access, soldering accessibility, inspection visibility, coating access, and mechanical assembly requirements.

Review customer manufacturing packages, including assembly drawings, BOMs, schematics, PCB fabrication data, specifications, and engineering changes; resolve missing, conflicting, or unclear requirements.

Coordinate manufacturability recommendations with customer engineering and Program Management, obtaining required approvals before implementing changes to customer-controlled designs or requirements.

Lead manufacturing engineering activities for NPI, including feasibility assessments, readiness reviews, pilot builds, risk closure, and transition into sustained production.

Define and maintain the overall manufacturing sequence, master routings, labor assumptions, tooling requirements, and production documentation requirements with input from Process Engineering.

Coordinate complete manufacturing packages so that approved drawings, revisions, routings, tooling, and process instructions are available and aligned before production release.

Assess the manufacturing impact of ECOs, component substitutions, and design revisions, including effects on work in process, tooling, process qualification, inspection, and test.

Establish product-level tooling and fixture requirements; coordinate development and qualification with Process Engineering, Test Engineering, suppliers, and equipment vendors.

Partner with Test Engineering on design for testability, test access, fixture integration, coverage requirements, and the placement of test operations within the manufacturing flow.

Lead resolution of complex manufacturing issues involving product design, material compatibility, tolerance interactions, or multiple production processes.

Coordinate manufacturing risk reviews across the full assembly flow, ensuring process PFMEAs and control plans address risks at the interfaces between operations.

Develop capacity assessments and manufacturing improvement plans involving equipment capability, production layout, automation, material flow, and production scale-up.

Support equipment and technology selection through technical evaluations, cost-benefit analysis, capital recommendations, and qualification planning.

Analyze product-level yield, manufacturing cost, labor performance, rework, and scrap to prioritize improvements and verify business results.

Support quoting and program planning with manufacturing feasibility input, tooling costs, labor estimates, and technical risk assessments.

Support customer technical reviews, audits, and manufacturing transfers while ensuring applicable quality, safety, ESD, and customer requirements are incorporated into manufacturing plans.